Chapter 2140: Sanguine Dusk Tavern

Zong Yan was guard captain of the Aurora city lord residence and one of its three celestial rank cultivators. He was also Yushi Mowang’s future martial instructor. With his skills, he’d easily picked out Yushi Mowang giving the Origin Doubling Pill to Yushi Moli, but thankfully, the latter had returned it.

Otherwise, Zong Yan would’ve forcefully taken it back.

“Ah, Uncle Zong!” Yushi Moli realized who the man was and greeted Zong Yan.

“Go now, don’t keep milord waiting,” Zong Yan rushed the boy along with a frown. He didn’t like Yushi Moli.

Just as the maids had gossiped about, Yushi Moli was trash and a waste of resources in the city lord’s manor. One hundred gold coins worth of herbal baths and fare could support an incredible number of powerhouses anywhere else.

Zong Yan wasn’t at liberty to say anything, however, because Yushi Moli was the city lord’s son.

“Alright.” That didn’t leave Yushi Moli time to change his clothes. He headed for the main hall with Mowang still in his arms.

“Father!”

Yushi Jianchou sipped from a cup of tea in the main hall. He raised his head when he saw his two sons arrive.

“Sit!”

“Understood.” Yushi Moli put down his younger brother and sat on a nearby stool.

“Zong Yan, take Mowang with you,” Yushi Jianchou dismissed the guard captain.

“Understood.” Zong Yan walked away with Mowang.

Although Yushi Mowang was very reluctant to leave, he didn’t dare disobey his father.

“Moli, you are already thirteen years old,” Yushi Jianchou intoned when he turned around.

Yushi Moli’s heart quailed.

“I set out for trials and journeyed alone when I was your age,” he continued.

“Mm.” Yushi Moli pursed his lips; he knew what his father was about to do.

“We own a manor fifteen kilometers to the east of Aurora City. Go look after it for me,” Yushi Jianchou sighed.

“Thank you, father!” Yushi Moli stood up with reddened eyes and bowed to the man. Had this day finally come?

He walked out of the hall in a daze. Although he’d long anticipated that his father would want him to leave the city, he hadn’t thought this day would come so early. Subconsciously, Yushi Moli felt that he shouldn’t be this sad. He wasn’t from this world and neither was he the real Yushi Moli.

However, the sword shadow sealed away his original memories. He’d assimilated the memories of this body like he was a blank soul.

In this moment, he was Yushi Moli. He felt the same emotions as the boy would. They shared the same experiences; everything that was the two of them melded together perfectly.

Lu Yun’s sleeping memories stopped trying to force their way through the seal imposed by the sword. He would return to the nothing when he was strong enough and naturally awaken his true self then.

....

“Don’t you think you’re being too heartless?” Ouyang Du appeared in front of Yushi Jianchou with a frosty look in his eyes.

“How much more can Moli endure if I don’t do this?” The man’s expression remained unchanged.

“How much more? You mean his training? Do you begrudge him that little bit of resources? He is your son!” Ouyang Du’s face darkened.

“You would understand if you lived in the city lord’s residence,” Yushi Jianchou sighed.

“Do you mean.. the idle chatter?” Ouyang Du blinked.

“Moli is just a child. He can ignore it for now, but it will ultimately affect his personality,” Yushi Jianchou said expressionlessly.

“Who would dare say anything if you gave the order?” Ouyang Du didn’t understand.

“Didn’t you see Zong Yan’s attitude toward him and how the servants look at him? I can expel everyone from the complex and even chase Zong Yan away, but it won’t change a thing.” Yushi Jianchou shook his head. “He is my son, after all.”

“Excuses!” Ouyang Du snorted and left the hall.

....

Yushi Moli left the city lord’s residence and Aurora City. He didn’t bring much with his departure—just an old servant and the Qingfeng Sword.

The old servant had served his mother and was now in charge of brewing his daily medicines. The Qingfeng Sword was the sword that he normally practiced with.

Apart from that, he didn’t take anything else. Not a single article of clothing.

Yushi Mowang didn’t know that his older brother was leaving, so only Ouyang Du came to send him off. His uncle shoved a package of herbs into his hands.

In everyone’s eyes, the trash young master that was Yushi Moli had been expelled from Aurora City because he didn’t find favor in his father’s eyes.

“Father’s doing this to protect me, so I won’t suffer from all the gossip and hateful comments!” Yushi Moli heaved a long breath after he left the complex he’d grown up in.

He’d lived a very stifling life in the city lord’s residence. Although it appeared that he didn’t care about the sidelong glances and muttered judgments, he’d found it very hard to bear the looks that the servants regarded him with. That was why he trained with crazed fervor, seeking to relieve the depression lurking in his heart.

He didn’t dare go out on the streets or even wander through the complex. Yushi Moli was deathly afraid of seeing more looks of contempt cast his way.

In his current condition, he was just a child. He’d long since lost Lu Yun’s memories and experiences. Yet, all the same, he understood that Yushi Jianchou sending him out was his father’s way of protecting him.

“I won’t let father down!” Yushi Moli looked back at Aurora City in the distance and balled his hands up into fists. A voice in his subconscious also told him that he couldn’t let down those waiting for him to return.

....

Fifteen kilometers to the east of Aurora City was a manor at the foot of Qingqiu Mountain. It was named Clearsnow Estate and occupied roughly fifty acres. Sitting at the foot of a mountain and next to running water, it enjoyed beautiful sights.

With the year being in early autumn, multicolored tree leaves drifted through the air and fish swam vigorously through the river’s clean waters. Yushi Moli immediately liked what he saw when he arrived at his new home.

Fifty acres made Clearsnow Estate a modest size. Roughly one hundred farmers operated the property and were overseen by a steward from the city lord’s residence.

The steward was called Xun You and treated Yushi Moli with all due respect, despite the young master having been reassigned to the estate. Granted, he took his orders from Yushi Jianchou, but he still would not have treated Yushi Moli with disdain. The boy was the city lord’s son, after all.

“You’re here, young master.” Xun You greeted the charming young man with a congenial smile. “Clearsnow Estate has prepared a welcoming banquet for you.”

“No need to go to all that trouble, Uncle Xun. Life should proceed as normal,” Yushi Moli responded with resignation. “I’m just another mouth at the table.”

....

Clearsnow Estate housed roughly one hundred families who ran various industries on property grounds. The estate was self-sufficient and sent its monthly surplus back to the city lord’s residence in Aurora City.

Most of the residence’s profits came from these kinds of properties. Clearsnow specialized in agriculture and regularly supplied the city lord with grains, fruits, and vegetables. Their monthly profit wasn’t much—a few dozen gold coins a month at best.

That wasn’t enough for even one month of medicine for Yushi Moli. Thus, Clearsnow Estate wasn’t a very important property to the city lord.

Ouyang Du had given his nephew three months worth of medicinal ingredients when the boy left, but Yushi Moli was on his own after that. He had to find a way to earn money himself as he needed the medicines for his training. Without them, his body would collapse and his progress would halt.

That night, he perused the books in the estate’s library instead of mentally observing the sword chart. Reading was one of his greatest hobbies.

Martial cultivators started training at six years old, but since he lacked a sense of qi at that age, Yushi Moli couldn’t. He could only increase his knowledge through perusing books and ancient records.

He’d read everything in the city lord’s residence by the time he turned nine. It wasn’t until he discovered the Sword Chart of Heaven and Earth in the book that his mother had left him that he officially began training.

Most of the books in Clearsnow Estate’s library were new to him, so he decided to spend some of his meditation time tonight reading.

“Money, money! How am I supposed to get some?” he sighed as he flipped through “Memoirs of the Continent’s Experts”. “Ask uncle? No! Uncle’s helped me a lot these years. I need to rely on myself now since I’m here!”

Yushi Moli shook his head. “I still have one hope, and that’s to become a disciple of Grandmaster Yuqing Yang. I can be an alchemist! But.. I wonder if I have the potential for becoming one.

“Oh? Is this a memoir of Senior Long Qianjue? Eh? He was a star assassin of the Sanguine Dusk Tavern before he made a name for himself?” Yushi Moli blinked.

“Sanguine Dusk Tavern? Assassin? I think there’s one in Aurora City!”